Apr 24,2017 Special Forum

The Case of Russia

When Russian and Japanese foreign and defense ministers met in Tokyo in mid-March for their 2+2 discussions, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov sensed the presence of a third party obstructing Russo-Japanese friendship. He told Japanese colleagues of his “concerns regarding consistent tendencies to a bloc approach” to Asia-Pacific security. Russia, Lavrov explained, promotes measures “with China […]

Chris Miller

annexation of Crimea , Cold War , Korean War , military alliance , nuclear proliferation , regime change , sanctions , Six-Party Talks , THAAD , TPP

Apr 24,2017 Special Forum

The Case of Japan

Japan has never been so closely attached to the United States as it is today. The military alliance has reached an apogee different from Japan’s hands-off approach to US ventures, which are not centered on the immediate defense of Japan. Prime Minister Abe’s attempts to address the historical gap in their relationship—evident from his speech […]

Gilbert Rozman

Anti-Americanism , bubble economy , Donald Trump , Hiroshima bombing , historical revisionism , pacifism , Pearl Harbor , TPP , Yasukuni Shrine

Apr 17,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: China (April 2017)

In early 2017, Chinese experts reacted to the Trump–Xi summit and assessed the broader implications of Trump’s election for the future of the world order—which Chinese observers widely believe to be in flux—and for China’s great power relations. They also explored India’s strategic implications for China by analyzing the changing security structure in the Indian […]

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)

AIIB , North Korea , OBOR , RCEP , South China Sea , THAAD , TPP , Trump-Xi Summit , US-China Comprehensive Dialogue

Apr 17,2017 Alternative Scenarios

The Negative Scenario I

Donald Trump’s election to the presidency generated numerous articles expecting or advocating a rapprochement or even a “grand bargain” with Russia. This reaction reflected Trump’s many favorable campaign statements about Vladimir Putin and the widely-perceived desirability in both Washington and Moscow of improved relations between the United States and Russia. Indeed, the Duma rejoiced at […]

Stephen Blank

Balance of power , chemical weapons , NATO , North Korea , Strategic Triangle , Syria , THAAD , TPP , Trump-Xi Summit , Ukraine

Mar 27,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (March 2017)

On February 10, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs carried an Interfax interview with Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov on Russian Asia policies in the past year. He cited as the biggest event the May Sochi summit with the members of ASEAN. A second important event was carrying the entry of India and Pakistan into the […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

Abe Shinzo , APEC , ASEAN , Cold War , Denuclearization , Eastern Economic Forum , globalization , Greater Eurasia , India , Kuril Islands

Feb 02,2017 National Commentaries

A Chinese Perspective

Since Donald Trump took office last month, people everywhere have been concerned that US foreign policy could experience far-reaching change; the regional strategic situation in the Asia Pacific also could shift in an unfavorable direction for China. Understanding such concern, we must prevent misjudgments from forming on the basis of the penetration of this kind […]

Guan Guihai

Abe Shinzo , AIIB , Arms trade , ASEAN , Diaoyu islands , East Asia Summit , East China Sea , freedom of navigation , GSOMIA , military buildup

Feb 02,2017 National Commentaries

A US Perspective

At the end of the first month of his presidency, how should we anticipate Trump’s post “pivot to Asia” policy toward East Asia? What matters: his personnel picks, his tweets and statements, meetings and calls with foreign leaders, or the intersection of US actions and those of countries in East Asia? Many US analysts are […]

Gilbert Rozman

Abe Shinzo , ASEAN , Australia , Denuclearization , East China Sea , freedom of navigation operations , GSOMIA , India , Kim Jong-nam , military buildup

Feb 01,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (January 2017)

Russia appears to be on the precipice of some important change with less optimism than before but more candor about uncertainties. The December Putin-Abe summit left more questions than answers, less a sense of success or failure than of doubt on what comes next. The Putin-Xi summit of late November was perfunctory, coming amid continued […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

Abe Shinzo , ASEAN , Central Asia , comfort women , EAS , energy , Eurasian Economic Union , G7 , Greater Eurasia , GSOMIA

Feb 01,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (January 2017)

Three shocks left Japan’s media groping for answers at the end of 2016 and the start of 2017. The Trump shock kept playing out after the initial alarm and adjustment in November. This journal covered the first month’s response in detail, so this theme is not a focus here, even as the implications for Asia […]

Editorial Staff

abductions , Abe Shinzo , anti-globalization , ASEAN , Australia , comfort women , Crimea , Diaoyu islands , energy , GSOMIA

Dec 20,2016 Open Forum

Synopsis of Washington, DC Meetings on Trump and the Korean Peninsula

A presidential transition in the United States understandably raises concern in allied countries heavily dependent for security and diplomacy. The transition from Obama to Trump is more unsettling than even the Carter to Reagan transition or the Clinton to Bush transition. Compounding the problem, the power transition and dangerous standoffs in East Asia keep US […]

Editorial Staff

Abe Shinzo , Al Qaeda , ASEAN , Balance of power , burden-sharing , comfort women , democratization , Denuclearization , Extended deterrence , GSOMIA